Help is available: Supporting mental wellness through peer health navigation with young black men who have sex with men with HIV

Young black men who have sex with men (YBMSM) with HIV experience disproportionate rates of trauma, incarceration, poverty, racial discrimination, and homophobia. The synergistic effects of these adverse experiences, along with increased rates of mental health disorders, increase their risk for poor health. To address this need, the study authors adapted a current HIV service model to include a peer-health navigation intervention (WITH U) to attend to behavioral health, health literacy, linkage to services, and psychosocial support for YBMSM with HIV. This longitudinal, mixed-methods, nonexperimental study reports on the mental health burden among participants and the association between participation in WITH U and mental wellness outcomes. Participants

A Lack of Variability Between Repeated Spitzer Phase Curves of WASP-43b

Though the global atmospheres of hot Jupiters have been extensively studied using phase curve observations, the level of time variability in these data is not well constrained. To investigate possible time variability in a planetary phase curve, we observed two full-orbit phase curves of the hot Jupiter WASP-43b at 4.5 microns using the Spitzer Space Telescope, and reanalyzed a previous 4.5 micron phase curve from Stevenson et al. (2017). We find no significant time variability between these three phase curves, which span timescales of weeks to years. The three observations are best fit by a single phase curve with an eclipse depth of 3907 +- 85 ppm, a dayside-integrated brightness temperature of 1479 +- 13 K, a nightside-integrated brightness temperature of 755 +- 46 K, and an eastward-shifted peak of 10.4 +- 1.8 degrees. To model our observations, we performed 3D general circulation model simulations of WASP-43b with simple cloud models of various vertical extents. In comparing these simulations to our observations, we find that WASP-43b likely has a cloudy nightside that transitions to a relatively cloud-free dayside. We estimate that any change in WASP-43bs vertical cloud thickness of more than three pressure scale heights is inconsistent with our observed upper limit on variation. These observations, therefore, indicate that WASP-43bs clouds are stable in their vertical and spatial extent over timescales up to several years. These results strongly suggest that atmospheric properties derived from previous, single Spitzer phase curve observations of hot Jupiters likely show us the equilibrium properties of these atmospheres.Comment: 24 pages, 9 figures, Published in the Astronomical Journal (AJ

Proof of concept for integrating oxy-fuel combustion and the removal of all pollutants from a coal fired flame

The USDOE/Albany Research Center and Jupiter Oxygen Corporation, working together under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement, have demonstrated proof-of-concept for the integration of Jupiter’s oxy-fuel combustion and an integrated system for the removal of all stack pollutants, including CO2, from a coal-fired flame. The components were developed using existing process technology with the addition of a new oxy-coal combustion nozzle. The results of the test showed that the system can capture SOx, NOx, particulates, and even mercury as a part of the process of producing liquefied CO2 for sequestration. This is part of an ongoing research project to explore alternative methods for CO2 capture that will be applicable to both retrofit and new plant construction

Proof of concept for integrating oxy-fuel combustion and the removal of all pollutants from a coal fired flame

working together under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement, have demonstrated proof-of-concept for the integration of Jupiter's oxy-fuel combustion and an integrated system for the removal of all stack pollutants, including CO 2 , from a coal-fired flame. The components were developed using existing process technology with the addition of a new oxy-coal combustion nozzle. The results of the test showed that the system can capture SOx, NOx, particulates, and even mercury as a part of the process of producing liquefied CO 2 for sequestration. This is part of an ongoing research project to explore alternative methods for CO 2 capture that will be applicable to both retrofit and new plant construction. BACKGROUN

The next generation of oxy-fuel boiler systems

Research in the area of oxy-fuel combustion which is being pioneered by Jupiter Oxygen Corporation combined with boiler research conducted by the USDOE/Albany Research Center has been applied to designing the next generation of oxy-fuel combustion systems. The new systems will enhance control of boiler systems during turn-down and improve response time while improving boiler efficiency. These next generation boiler systems produce a combustion product that has been shown to be well suited for integrated pollutant removal. These systems have the promise of reducing boiler foot-print and boiler construction costs. The modularity of the system opens the possibility of using this design for replacement of boilers for retrofit on existing systems

Genome-wide Characterization of Shared and Distinct Genetic Components that Influence Blood Lipid Levels in Ethnically Diverse Human Populations

Blood lipid concentrations are heritable risk factors associated with atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases. Lipid traits exhibit considerable variation among populations of distinct ancestral origin as well as between individuals within a population. We performed association analyses to identify genetic loci influencing lipid concentrations in African American and Hispanic American women in the Women’s Health Initiative SNP Health Association Resource. We validated one African-specific high-density lipoprotein cholesterol locus at CD36 as well as 14 known lipid loci that have been previously implicated in studies of European populations. Moreover, we demonstrate striking similarities in genetic architecture (loci influencing the trait, direction and magnitude of genetic effects, and proportions of phenotypic variation explained) of lipid traits across populations. In particular, we found that a disproportionate fraction of lipid variation in African Americans and Hispanic Americans can be attributed to genomic loci exhibiting statistical evidence of association in Europeans, even though the precise genes and variants remain unknown. At the same time, we found substantial allelic heterogeneity within shared loci, characterized both by population-specific rare variants and variants shared among multiple populations that occur at disparate frequencies. The allelic heterogeneity emphasizes the importance of including diverse populations in future genetic association studies of complex traits such as lipids; furthermore, the overlap in lipid loci across populations of diverse ancestral origin argues that additional knowledge can be gleaned from multiple populations

Oxy-fuel combustion systems for pollution free coal fired power generation

Jupiter Oxygen's patented oxy-fuel combustion systems1 are capable of economically generating power from coal with ultra-low emissions and increased boiler efficiency. Jupiter's system uses pure oxygen as the combustion agent, excluding air and thus nitrogen, concentrating CO2 and pollutants for efficient capture with near zero NOx production, reducing exhaust mass flow, and increasing radiant heat transfer. Flue-gas recirculation rates can be varied to add flexibility to new boiler designs using this technology. Computer modeling and thermal analysis have identified important design considerations in retrofit applications

Serum microrna biomarkers for detection of non-small cell lung cancer

Non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the leading cause of cancer-related mortality world-wide and the majority of cases are diagnosed at late stages of disease. There is currently no cost-effective screening test for NSCLC, and the development of such a test is a public health imperative. Recent studies have suggested that chest computed tomography screening of patients at high risk of lung cancer can increase survival from disease, however, the cost effectiveness of such screening has not been established. In this Phase I/II biomarker study we examined the feasibility of using serum miRNA as biomarkers of NSCLC using RT-qPCR to examine the expression of 180 miRNAs in sera from 30 treatment naive NSCLC patients and 20 healthy controls. Receiver operating characteristic curves (ROC) and area under the curve were used to identify differentially expressed miRNA pairs that could distinguish NSCLC from healthy controls. Selected miRNA candidates were further validated in sera from an additional 55 NSCLC patients and 75 healthy controls. Examination of miRNA expression levels in serum from a multi-institutional cohort of 50 subjects (30 NSCLC patients and 20 healthy controls) identified differentially expressed miRNAs. A combination of two differentially expressed miRNAs miR-15b and miR-27b, was able to discriminate NSCLC from healthy controls with sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of 100% in the training set. Upon further testing on additional 130 subjects (55 NSCLC and 75 healthy controls), this miRNA pair predicted NSCLC with a specificity of 84% (95% CI 0.73-0.91), sensitivity of 100% (95% CI; 0.93-1.0), NPV of 100%, and PPV of 82%. These data provide evidence that serum miRNAs have the potential to be sensitive, cost-effective biomarkers for the early detection of NSCLC. Further testing in a Phase III biomarker study in is necessary for validation of these results. © 2012 Hennessey et al

Intimacy negotiated: the management of relationships and the construction of personal communities in the lives of bisexual women and men

Bringing into dialogue conceptual literature on bisexuality, intimacy, and personal community, this article illuminates the lived experiences of 80 bisexual women and men in the UK. The data were collected through questionnaire and individual interview. The article discusses two empirical themes, beginning with the participants' narratives on their engagement with the dominant sexual and gender order – which hegemonizes 'monosexuality' and 'compulsory monogamy' – in their negotiation of relational intimacy. This is followed by an exploration of the features and functions of their personal communities, especially the significance of friendships. The article argues that, despite the ambivalence and misperception surrounding bisexuality, the participants enacted creative agency in negotiating intimacy and social support in their everyday lives

The Science Performance of JWST as Characterized in Commissioning

This paper characterizes the actual science performance of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), as determined from the six month commissioning period. We summarize the performance of the spacecraft, telescope, science instruments, and ground system, with an emphasis on differences from pre-launch expectations. Commissioning has made clear that JWST is fully capable of achieving the discoveries for which it was built. Moreover, almost across the board, the science performance of JWST is better than expected; in most cases, JWST will go deeper faster than expected. The telescope and instrument suite have demonstrated the sensitivity, stability, image quality, and spectral range that are necessary to transform our understanding of the cosmos through observations spanning from near-earth asteroids to the most distant galaxies.Comment: 5th version as accepted to PASP; 31 pages, 18 figures; https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1538-3873/acb29